Up early and on the trail at 8:45 am. Another scorcher today and tough initial hiking over Butternut Mountain at the start of the day. Climbing over Bowen Mountain next was much easier. Went to Ritterbush Pond for a swim and ended up staying for three hours. There was a trampoline on a raft that you could swim to in the middle of the pond. I suntanned and talked with Bob Northrop’s son and grandson when they showed up on the raft.

Sunset atop Belvidere Mountain

After a really late lunch at 4:00 pm, I pushed on to make the summit of Belvidere Mountain. Pretty tough climb up Belvidere especially as it was getting dark. I camped at the summit next to the fire tower. This is an awesome spot to spend the night. There are great views from the fire tower. I watched the moonrise and a lightening shower way off in the distance.